Hammer for percussion musical instruments



r" I. May 12 W. D. GLADSTQNE HAMMER FOR PERCUSSION MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed May 25, 1935 INVENTOR.

i; ATTORNEY.

Patented May 12, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAMMER FOR PERCUSSION MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 3 Claims.

The device of my invention relates to hammers for percussion musical instruments and is particularly adapted for use with percussion musical instruments in which the tonal elements are of separated members.

- The production of musical composition from percussion musical instruments in which the tonal elements are separated, as in xylophones, chimes and similar instruments, is accomplished. by striking the tonal elements by means of so-called hammers which consist of a hammer member, or head, carried by a flexible and resilient handle.

As the tonal elements are frequently struck with great rapidity, it is necessary that the handle have sufficient resiliency to return the hammer to its original position after its flexing due to its percussion with the tonal element.

This is the most important element of percussion hammers, because if the handle is still returning to its original position when the following tonal element is struck, the produced tone will be imperfect.

Further, as the musician always employs two or more hammers at the same time, it is essential that all of the handles have the same flexibility and resiliency as otherwise the tone effects will be irregular and imperfect.

During the production of a musical composition upon a percussion musical instrument, the musician frequently finds it necessary to rapidly change his hammers, dependent upon the hardness of the hammer head, in order to obtain the proper tonal efiects and hence it is desirable that the hammers should carry some clearly defined and rapidly recognizable insignia indicating the desired device.

Further, because of the force of the blow of the hammer head necessary in the production of some musical compositions it is desirable that the handle portion be of such strength that it will not break under such percussions.

The handles of the percussion hammers now employed are made of rattan, but these possess many disadvantages among which may be mentioned their-non-uniformity and non-rapidity of resiliency, their property of remaining bent instead of returning to a straight position, their loss of resiliency and flexibility during use and their brittleness resulting in their being frequently broken during use.

The percussion hammers of my invention overcome all of the above mentioned and other objectionable features of the present employed devices, and present percussion hammers having uniform and. constant flexibility, uniform and constant resiliency and sufficient strength to prevent their breakage during use.

Further, the modified forms of my device possess readily recognized insignia indicating tonal values and means for preventing the handle from slipping through the hand of the performer in addition to the advantages above mentioned.

I have found that if the handles of percussion hammers be hollow and made of resilient and flexible material, the devices have all of the described advantages and that, therefore, they are a great improvement and have many valuable advantages over the present known devices nd are capable of greatly improved and more desirable tonal effects.

Without limiting myself to any particular resilient and, flexible material, I find that vulcanized rubber and synthetic resin compositions are particularly suitable for my purpose.

While I have referred particularly to the employment of my devices with percussion musical instruments in which the tonal elements are separated from'each other, I do not limit myself to such use as they may be equally advantageously employed with drums and similar musical instruments, in any case where it is desirable to have both resiliency and flexibility.

The advantages of my percussion hammers will be evident upon a consideration of my specification and its accompanying drawing in which similar parts are designated by similar numerals.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a side view of one form of my device, partly broken away for purposes of explanation.

Figure 2 is a top view of the device of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a bottom view of the device of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged section through the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a side view of a modified form of my device showing its flexibility.

Figure 6 is a top view of the device of Figure 5.

Figure '7 is an enlarged section through the line 'l--'| of Figure 5.

Figure 8 is a bottom view of the device of Figure 5.

The particular form of the device of my invention shown in Figures 1 to 4 consists of a resilient and flexible hard rubber tubular member I 0, preferably vulcanized upon both the inner and outer faces, the lower end of which extends into and is fixedly attached to a spherical knob member I I, which acts to prevent the handle from slipping through the hand of the user.

The upper end of the tubular member H] extends through and is fixedly attached to the spherical striking, or hammer, member [2 composed of soft rubber, and a plug I3 is inserted within and is fixedly attached to the tubular member l0.

The plug l3 carries a designating insignia as the numeral 5, and the spherical member H carries a similar designating insignia as the numeral 5.

The modified form of my device shown in Figures 5 to 8, consists of a resilient and flexible synthetic resin hollow cylindrical member [4, the lower end of which is inserted within and fixedly attached to a spherical knob member l5, and the upper end of which passes through the spherical striking, or hammer, member IS.

The spherical member l5 and the hammer end I6 carry a designating insignia as a red color IT.

The flexibility of the device of Figures 5 to 8 is shown by the dot and dash lines of Figure 5, the resiliency of the hollow cylindrical member I4 bringing the device to its original position as shown by the full lines of that figure.

The hammer element of my device may be composed of wood, metal, felt, synthetic resin, celluloid, Pyroline, bone or other suitable material, but I prefer to employ semi-soft rubber, the softness being adapted for the particular purpose for which it is intended, and which may be softer or harder in different hammers, dependent upon the tonal effects desired.

The designating insignia may be of any character which will designate the particular hammer possessing a desired physical character, and the spherical member at the lower end of my device may be omitted if desired.

It will thus be seen that my device possesses the property of greater assurance of the production of proper tones, more uniform tonal results, more uniform flexibility and resiliency and greater stability than the percussion hammers previously employed.

I do not limit myself to the particular size, shape, number, arrangement or material of parts specifically shown and described as these are given simply as a. means for clearly describing the de vice of my invention.

What I claim is:-

1. In a hammer adapted for use with percussion musical instruments in combination, a hollow resilient and flexible plastic composition handle and a hammer head carried by one end thereof.

2. In a hammer adapted for use with percussion musical instruments, in combination, a hollow synthetic resin resilient handle and a hammer head carried by one end thereof.

3. In a hammer adapted for use with percussion musical instruments, in combination, a hollow hard rubber resilient handle and a hammer head carried by one end thereof.

WILLIAM D. GLADSTONE. 

